Data processing systems for modifying privacy campaign data via electronic messaging systems

ABSTRACT

In various embodiments, a privacy campaign data modification system is configured to store electronic messages in memory and associate those electronic messages with a particular privacy campaign. In particular, a privacy officer or other individual may receive e-mails or other electronic messages that are associated with an existing privacy campaign or an existing privacy impact assessment currently being performed for a particular privacy campaign. In various embodiments, it may be necessary to store and maintain the electronic messages for any suitable reason (e.g., record keeping, auditing, etc.).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No.

15/256,419, filed Sep. 2, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/169,643, filed May 31, 2016, which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/317,457,filed Apr. 1, 2016, and this application also claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/360,123, filed Jul. 8, 2016;U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/353,802, filed Jun. 23,2016; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/348,695, filedJun. 10, 2016, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Over the past years, privacy and security policies, and relatedoperations have become increasingly important. Breaches in security,leading to the unauthorized access of personal data (which may includesensitive personal data) have become more frequent among companies andother organizations of all sizes. Such personal data may include, but isnot limited to, personally identifiable information (PII), which may beinformation that directly (or indirectly) identifies an individual orentity. Examples of PII include names, addresses, dates of birth, socialsecurity numbers, and biometric identifiers such as a person'sfingerprints or picture. Other personal data may include, for example,customers' Internet browsing habits, purchase history, or even theirpreferences (e.g., likes and dislikes, as provided or obtained throughsocial media).

Many organizations that obtain, use, and transfer personal data,including sensitive personal data, have begun to address these privacyand security issues. To manage personal data, many companies haveattempted to implement operational policies and processes that complywith legal and industry requirements. Accordingly, there is a need forimproved systems and methods to manage personal data in a manner thatcomplies with such policies.

SUMMARY

A computer-implemented data processing method for electronicallyreceiving the input of campaign data related to a privacy campaign andelectronically calculating a risk level for the privacy campaign basedon the data inputs, according to various embodiments, comprises: (1)displaying on a graphical user interface a prompt to create anelectronic record for a privacy campaign, wherein the privacy campaignutilizes personal data collected from at least one or more persons orone or more entities; (2) receiving a command to create an electronicrecord for the privacy campaign; (3) creating an electronic record forthe privacy campaign and digitally storing the record; (4) presenting,on one or more graphical user interfaces, a plurality of prompts for theinput of campaign data related to the privacy campaign; andelectronically receiving campaign data input by one or more users. Invarious embodiments, the campaign data identifies: (1) a description ofthe campaign; (2) one or more types of personal data related to thecampaign; (3) a subject from which the personal data was collected; (4)the storage of the personal data; and (5) access to the personal data.In particular embodiments, the computer-implemented data processingmethod further comprises: (1) processing the campaign data byelectronically associating the campaign data with the record for theprivacy campaign; (2) receiving, by one or more computer processors, arequest to associate an electronic message with the record for theprivacy campaign; (3) in response to receiving the request, associatingthe electronic message with the record for the privacy campaign; (4)digitally storing the campaign data associated with the record for thecampaign; and (5) using one or more computer processors, calculating arisk level for the campaign based on the campaign data,

In any embodiment described herein, calculating the risk level for thecampaign may comprise: (1) electronically retrieving from a database thecampaign data associated with the record for the campaign; and (2)electronically determining a plurality of weighting factors for thecampaign, wherein the plurality of weighting factors are based upon aplurality of factors including: (A) the nature of the personal dataassociated with the campaign; (B) the physical location of the personaldata associated with the campaign; (C) the length of time that thepersonal data associated with the campaign will be retained in storage;(D) the type of individual from which the personal data associated withthe campaign originated; and (E) the country of residence of theindividual from which the personal data associated with the campaignoriginated. In still other embodiments, calculating the risk levelfurther comprises: (1) electronically assigning a relative risk ratingfor each of the plurality of factors; (2) electronically calculating arisk level for the campaign based upon the plurality of weightingfactors and the relative risk rating for each of the plurality offactors; and (3) digitally storing the risk level associated with therecord for the campaign.

A computer-implemented data processing method of electronicallymodifying a data structure comprising campaign data related to a privacycampaign, in particular embodiments, comprises: (1) receiving, by one ormore processors, a request to modify a data structure to include one ormore electronic messages, wherein the data structure digitally storescampaign data related to a privacy campaign; (2) in response toreceiving the request, modifying, by one or more processors, the datastructure to include the one or more electronic messages; and (3)associating, in the data structure, the one or more electronic messageswith the campaign data. In various embodiments, the campaign dataidentifies each of: (1) one or more types of personal data related tothe privacy campaign; (2) a subject from which the personal data wascollected; (3) a storage location of the personal data; and (4) one ormore access permissions related to the personal data.

A computer-implemented data processing method of electronicallymodifying campaign data related to a particular privacy campaign of aplurality of privacy campaigns, according to some embodiments,comprises: (1) providing, by one or more processors, a software plug-infor installation on a computing device; (2) receiving, by one or moreprocessors, via the software plug-in, a request to modify campaign datafor a particular privacy campaign of a plurality of privacy campaigns toinclude one or more electronic messages; (3) in response to receivingthe request, modifying, by one or more processors, the campaign data forthe particular privacy campaign to include the one or more electronicmessages; and (4) associating, in the data structure, the one or moreelectronic messages with the campaign data. In various embodiments, thecampaign data identifies: (1) a description of the particular privacycampaign; (2) one or more types of personal data related to theparticular privacy campaign; (3) a subject from which the personal datawas collected; (4) a storage location of the personal data; and (5) oneor more access permissions related to the personal data;

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of a privacy campaign data modification system aredescribed below. In the course of this description, reference will bemade to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a privacy campaign data modification system according toparticular embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a computer (such as the privacycampaign data modification server 110, or one or more remote computingdevices 130) that is suitable for use in various embodiments of theprivacy campaign data modification system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed by thePrivacy Campaign Data Modification Module according to particularembodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary screen display and graphical user interface(GUI) according to various embodiments of the system, which may displayinformation associated with the system or enable access to orinteraction with the system by one or more users.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Overview

In various embodiments, a privacy campaign data modification system isconfigured to store electronic messages in memory and associate thoseelectronic messages with a particular privacy campaign. In particular, aprivacy officer or other individual may receive e-mails or otherelectronic messages that are associated with an existing privacycampaign or an existing privacy impact assessment currently beingperformed for a particular privacy campaign. In various embodiments, itmay be necessary to store and maintain the electronic messages for anysuitable reason (e.g., record keeping, auditing, etc.)

In particular embodiments, the system is configured to allow users toautomatically attach an electronic message to an existing privacycampaign, data flow, and/or privacy assessment. The system may furtherbe configured to enable a user to automatically store an electronicmessage within a data store associated with the system, and tag theelectronic message as “unassigned” for later assignment to an existingor potential future privacy campaign.

In particular embodiments, the system may, for example, be adapted toenable a user to store an electronic message and associate it with aparticular privacy campaign using: (1) a browser plug-in extension thatis configured to capture webmail; (2) a software plug-in for anelectronic messaging software application (e.g., Outlook, iMessage,etc.); (3) an integrated e-mail alias to which the user may forward theelectronic message to; and/or (4) any other suitable configuration. Invarious embodiments, the software plug-in may be configured to capturedata from any browsable document source, such as SharePoint, filerepository, FTP, HTTP, etc.

In various embodiments, a privacy campaign may include any undertakingby a particular organization (e.g., such as a project or other activity)that includes the collection, entry, and/or storage (e.g., in memory) ofany privacy information or personal data associated with one or moreindividuals. This personal data may include, for example, for anindividual: (1) name; (2) address; (3) telephone number; (4) e-mailaddress; (5) social security number; (6) information associated with oneor more credit accounts (e.g., credit card numbers); (7) bankinginformation; (8) location data; (9) internet search history; (10)account data; and (11) any other suitable personal information discussedherein.

As generally discussed above, a particular organization may be requiredto implement operational policies and processes to comply with one ormore legal requirements in handling such personal data. A particularorganization may further take steps to comply with one or more industrybest practices. In particular embodiments, these operational policiesand processes may include, for example: (1) storing personal data in asuitable location; (2) limiting access to the personal data to onlysuitable individuals or entities within the origination or external tothe organization; (3) limiting a length of time for which the data willbe stored; and (4) any other suitable policy to ensure compliance withany legal or industry guidelines. In particular embodiments, the legalor industry guidelines may vary based at least in part on, for example:(1) the type of data being stored; (2) an amount of data; (3) whetherthe data is encrypted; (4) etc.

For example, a particular organization's privacy compliance system maystore information related to a plurality of privacy campaigns that theparticular organization has undertaken. Each particular privacy campaignmay include the receipt or entry and subsequent storage of personal dataassociated with one or more individuals as part of the privacy campaign.An exemplary privacy campaign, may, for example, include the collectionand storage of the organization's employees' names, contact information,banking information, and social security numbers for use by theorganization's accounting department for payroll purposes.

In relation to each particular privacy campaign that an organization mayundertake, a privacy compliance system may be utilized to determine arisk level of a particular privacy campaign and to establish an auditschedule for the particular privacy campaign based on the risk level.The risk level may, for example, be determined based on various factorsrelated to the operational policies and processes described above incombination with one or more weighting factors and associated riskratings for such factors. In any embodiment described herein, theprivacy campaign data modification system may be utilized in the contextof a privacy compliance system to modify an audit schedule or affect acalculated risk level for a particular privacy campaign. For example,the system may: (1) scan the contents of one or more electronic messagesstored and maintained by the system for a particular privacy campaign;(2) analyze the contents; and (3) modify an audit schedule or risk levelfor the particular privacy campaign based at least in part on theanalysis.

Exemplary Technical Platforms

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the relevant field, the presentinvention may be, for example, embodied as a computer system, a method,or a computer program product. Accordingly, various embodiments may takethe form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely softwareembodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects.Furthermore, particular embodiments may take the form of a computerprogram product stored on a computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-readable instructions (e.g., software) embodied in the storagemedium. Various embodiments may take the form of web-implementedcomputer software. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may beutilized including, for example, hard disks, compact disks, DVDs,optical storage devices, and/or magnetic storage devices.

Various embodiments are described below with reference to block diagramsand flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatuses (e.g., systems), andcomputer program products. It should be understood that each block ofthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations ofblocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively,can be implemented by a computer executing computer programinstructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions which execute on the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus to create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memoryproduce an article of manufacture that is configured for implementingthe function specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computerprogram instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operationalsteps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus toproduce a computer implemented process such that the instructions thatexecute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide stepsfor implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block orblocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrationssupport combinations of mechanisms for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instructions for performing the specified functions. Itshould also be understood that each block of the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the blockdiagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by specialpurpose hardware-based computer systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or steps, or combinations of special purpose hardware andother hardware executing appropriate computer instructions.

Example System Architecture

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a Privacy Campaign Data Modification System100 according to a particular embodiment. In various embodiments, thePrivacy Campaign Data Modification System 100 is part of a PrivacyCompliance System, or other system, which may, for example, beassociated with a particular organization and be configured to ensurecompliance with one or more legal or industry regulations related to thecollection and storage of personal data. In some embodiments, thePrivacy Campaign Data Modification System 100 is configured to store andmaintain electronic messages associated with particular privacycampaigns for record keeping and auditing purposes.

As may be understood from FIG. 1, the Privacy Campaign Data ModificationSystem 100 includes one or more computer networks 115, a PrivacyCampaign Data Modification Server 110, a Privacy Compliance Server 120,one or more remote computing devices 130 (e.g., a desktop computer,laptop computer, tablet computer, smartphone, etc.), and One or MoreDatabases 140. In particular embodiments, the one or more computernetworks 115 facilitate communication between the Privacy Campaign DataModification Server 110, Privacy Compliance Server 120, one or moreremote computing devices 130 (e.g., a desktop computer, laptop computer,tablet computer, etc.), and one or more databases 140.

The one or more computer networks 115 may include any of a variety oftypes of wired or wireless computer networks such as the Internet, aprivate intranet, a public switch telephone network (PSTN), or any othertype of network. The communication link between Privacy Campaign DataModification Server 110 and Database 140 may be, for example,implemented via a Local Area Network (LAN) or via the Internet. In otherembodiments, the Database 140 may be stored on any suitable serverdescribed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a computer 200 thatcan be used within the Privacy Campaign Data Modification System 100,for example, as a client computer (e.g., one or more remote computingdevices 130 shown in FIG. 1), or as a server computer (e.g., PrivacyCampaign Data Modification Server 110 shown in FIG. 1). In particularembodiments, the computer 200 may be suitable for use as a computerwithin the context of the Privacy Campaign Data Modification System 100that is configured to monitor a user's system inputs to ascertainwhether any of those inputs are abnormal.

In particular embodiments, the computer 200 may be connected (e.g.,networked) to other computers in a LAN, an intranet, an extranet, and/orthe Internet. As noted above, the computer 200 may operate in thecapacity of a server or a client computer in a client-server networkenvironment, or as a peer computer in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The Computer 200 may be a personal computer (PC), atablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), acellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, aswitch or bridge, or any other computer capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that computer. Further, while only a single computer is illustrated,the term “computer” shall also be taken to include any collection ofcomputers that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets)of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

An exemplary computer 200 includes a processing device 202, a mainmemory 204 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM(RDRAM), etc.), static memory 206 (e.g., flash memory, static randomaccess memory (SRAM), etc.), and a data storage device 218, whichcommunicate with each other via a bus 232.

The processing device 202 represents one or more general-purposeprocessing devices such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit,or the like. More particularly, the processing device 202 may be acomplex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reducedinstruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instructionword (VLIW) microprocessor, or processor implementing other instructionsets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Theprocessing device 202 may also be one or more special-purpose processingdevices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP),network processor, or the like. The processing device 202 may beconfigured to execute processing logic 226 for performing variousoperations and steps discussed herein.

The computer 200 may further include a network interface device 208. Thecomputer 200 also may include a video display unit 210 (e.g., a liquidcrystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumericinput device 212 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 214 (e.g.,a mouse), and a signal generation device 216 (e.g., a speaker).

The data storage device 218 may include a non-transitorycomputer-accessible storage medium 230 (also known as a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium or a non-transitory computer-readablemedium) on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g.,software instructions 222) embodying any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The software instructions222 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within mainmemory 204 and/or within processing device 202 during execution thereofby computer 200—main memory 204 and processing device 202 alsoconstituting computer-accessible storage media. The softwareinstructions 222 may further be transmitted or received over a network115 via network interface device 208.

While the computer-accessible storage medium 230 is shown in anexemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term“computer-accessible storage medium” should be understood to include asingle medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributeddatabase, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one ormore sets of instructions. The term “computer-accessible storage medium”should also be understood to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by thecomputer and that cause the computer to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present invention. The term “computer-accessiblestorage medium” should accordingly be understood to include, but not belimited to, solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media, etc.

Exemplary System Platform

Various embodiments of a privacy campaign data modification system 100may be implemented in the context of any suitable system (e.g., aprivacy compliance system). For example, the privacy campaign datamodification system 100 may be implemented to enable users to modifycampaign data for a particular privacy campaign to include one or moreelectronic messages (e.g., e-mails and attachments, etc.) In particularembodiments, the system may implement the module in order to at leastpartially ensure compliance with one or more regulations (e.g., legalrequirements) related to the collection and/or storage of personal databy, for example: (1) adjusting a risk level of the particular privacycampaign based on contents of the electronic messages; and/or (2)modifying an audit schedule for the particular privacy campaign based onthe contents of the electronic messages.

Various aspects of the system's functionality may be executed by certainsystem modules, including a Privacy Campaign Data Modification Module300. This module is discussed in greater detail below. Although thismodule is presented as a series of steps, it should be understood inlight of this disclosure that various embodiments of the PrivacyCampaign Data Modification Module 300 described herein may perform thesteps described below in an order other than in which they arepresented. In still other embodiments, the Privacy Campaign DataModification Module 300 may omit certain steps described below. Invarious other embodiments, the Privacy Campaign Data Modification Module300 may perform steps in addition to those described.

Privacy Campaign Data Modification Module

In particular embodiments, a Privacy Campaign Data Modification Module300 is configured to: (1) store one or more electronic messages incomputer memory and associate the electronic messages with a particularprivacy campaign; (2) calculate an updated risk level for the particularprivacy campaign based on one or more pieces of content in the one ormore electronic messages; and/or (3) modify an audit schedule for theparticular privacy campaign based on the one or more pieces of content.

Turning to FIG. 3, in particular embodiments, when executing the PrivacyCampaign Data Modification Module 300, the system begins, at Step 310,providing a software plug-in for installation on a computing device. Inparticular embodiments, the software plug-in comprises a browser plug-inextension that is configured to capture and store webmail accessed viathe browser. In still other embodiments, the software plug-in comprisesa plug-in configured as an add-on to an electronic messaging softwareapplication (e.g., an e-mail application such as Outlook). In stillother embodiments, the software application may include a plug-indirectly with a messaging host, such as via Exchange, Office 365 orGoogle Webmail.

In various embodiments, the system is configured to provide the softwareplug-in via a suitable centralized software application repository(e.g., the Apple App Store, Google Play store, etc.). In still otherembodiments, the system is configured to provide the software plug-infor download via a suitable website or server. In various embodiments,the system is configured to provide the software plug-in forinstallation on any suitable computing device (e.g., desktop computer,laptop computer, smartphone, tablet, etc.). In various embodiments, thesoftware plug-in is configured to serve as an add-on to an existingsoftware application on the computing device and facilitate the storageof particular electronic messages (e.g., on one or more remote servers)and association of the particular electronic messages with a particularprivacy campaign (e.g., in response to a request from a user.

Continuing to Step 320, the system receives, via the software plug-in, arequest to modify campaign data for a particular privacy campaign of aplurality of privacy campaigns to include one or more electronicmessages. As may be understood in light of this disclosure, a particularprivacy campaign may include any activity undertaken by an entity thatinvolves the collection and/or storage of personal data. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/256,419, entitled “Data Processing Systems andMethods for Operationalizing Privacy Compliance and Assessing the Riskof Various Respective Privacy Campaigns,” and filed Sep. 2, 2016describes the creation of a record for a particular privacy campaignthat includes various campaign data, and is hereby incorporated hereinin its entirety.

In various embodiments, the campaign data may be representative of oneor more attributes related to the personal data collected as part of thecampaign. In other embodiments, the campaign data may include any otherinformation related to the particular privacy campaign with which it isassociated. As may be understood in light of this disclosure, a privacyofficer or other individual may receive one or more electroniccommunications (e.g., e-mails or other electronic messages) that areassociated with or otherwise related to an existing privacy campaign orprivacy impact assessment related to a particular privacy campaign. Theprivacy officer or other individual may desire to store and maintainsuch electronic communications for any suitable purpose (e.g., recordkeeping, auditing, etc.).

In various embodiments, it may be preferable to store such electroniccommunications in a location other than an e-mail server or otherlocation where the electronic communication was received (e.g., such asin a centralized location). Accordingly, at Step 320, the system mayreceive the request to modify campaign data (e.g., or an electronicrecord) for a particular privacy campaign to include the one or moreelectronic messages. In various embodiments, the system is configured toreceive the request in response to selection, by a user, of an indiciafor storing the electronic message and associating the electronicmessage with the particular privacy camping. In particular embodiments,the system may receive a name or unique identifier associated with theparticular privacy campaign as part of the request. For example, wheninitiating a new privacy campaign (e.g., as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/256,419), the system may assign a uniqueidentifier (e.g., string, codename, etc.) to the privacy campaign. Thesystem may, in response to receiving a request to modify campaign datafor a particular privacy campaign of the plurality of privacy campaigns,provide a listing of the plurality of privacy campaigns (e.g., as alisting of the unique identifiers for each of the plurality of privacycampaigns via the software plug-in) from which a user may select theparticular privacy campaign.

Continuing to Step 330, in response to receiving the request, the systemis configured to store the one or more electronic messages in memory andelectronically associate the one or more electronic messages with theparticular privacy campaign. In particular embodiments, the system isconfigured to store the one or more electronic messages in any suitablelocation (e.g., in the One or More Databases 140 or on the PrivacyCompliance Server 120 shown in FIG. 1). In still other embodiments, thesystem is configured to store the one or more electronic messages aspart of an electronic record for the particular privacy campaign.

In various embodiments, the system associates the one or more messageswith the particular privacy campaign such that a user may view a listingof messages associated with the particular privacy campaign at a latertime. For example, the electronic association of the one or moremessages with the particular privacy campaign by the system may enable auser to later retrieve the one or more messages by requesting to viewany messages associated with the particular campaign.

In particular embodiments, the system may automatically determine theparticular privacy campaign with which the associate the one or moreelectronic messages. For example, the system may determine, based on oneor more keywords or unique identifiers within the one or more electronicmessages that the one or more electronic messages are associated withthe particular privacy campaign.

Returning to Step 340, the system is configured to calculate an updatedrisk level for the particular privacy campaign based on one or morepieces of content in the one or more electronic messages. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/256,419 describes the calculation of a risklevel for a particular privacy campaign using the determination ofweighting factors and assignment of relative risk ratings for each ofthe weighting factors. In particular embodiments in which the system isconfigured to calculate an updated risk level for a particular privacycampaign, the system may, for example: (1) scan the contents of the oneor more messages; (2) identify one or more keywords in the contents ofthe one or more messages; (3) determine, based at least in part on theone or more keywords identified in the one or more messages, whether tomodify a risk level for the particular privacy campaign; and (4) inresponse to determining to modify the risk level: (A) modifying at leastone of the plurality of weighting factors and/or the relative riskrating for at least one of the plurality of weighting factors; and (B)calculating the updated risk level based upon the modified plurality ofweighting factors and/or the modified relative risk rating. The systemmay, for example, determine to modify the risk level for the privacycampaign based at least in part on one or more keywords identified inthe one or more electronic messages.

Continuing to Step 350, the system is configured to modify an auditschedule for the particular privacy campaign based on the one or morepieces of content (e.g., based on the calculated updated risk level). Asmay be understood in light of this disclosure and the disclosuresincorporated herein, the nature of a particular privacy campaign maydictate a frequency with which the particular privacy campaign should beaudited in order to ensure compliance with legal and industry standardsrelated to the collection and storage of personal data as part of theprivacy campaign. Particular electronic messages that are associatedwith a particular privacy campaign may contain content that may indicatea reduction in risk of a particular privacy campaign. This may, forexample, indicate that the audit frequency for the particular privacycampaign should be reduced (e.g., in order to conserve resources onunnecessary audits).

For example, if the system determines at Step 340, in response toscanning the content of the one or more electronic messages that the oneor more messages indicate that the particular privacy campaign iswinding down soon, the system may determine that the updated risk levelis lower than a previous risk level. In this example, the system maythen automatically modify the audit schedule for the particular privacycampaign to reduce a frequency of scheduled audits. As another example,the system may determine, based on content within the one or moremessages, that the system does not have complete information regardingthe particular privacy campaign. This may include, for example: (1)missing information related to the physical storage of personal data(e.g., location, duration, etc.); (2) imprecise information related to atype of personal data collected (e.g., the electronic message mayinclude discussion of social security numbers where social securitynumbers are not indicated as being collected as part of the privacycampaign; and/or (3) any other suitable indication within the electronicmessage that may raise a red flag regarding the campaign. In thisexample, the system may increase a frequency of auditing for theparticular privacy campaign, flag it for an immediate audit, or take anyother suitable action.

Exemplary User Experience

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary screen display that a user may encounterrelated to the system described herein. In the exemplary screen display400 shown in FIG. 4, the system is embodied as a software plug-in for anelectronic messaging application (e.g., Microsoft Outlook). As may beunderstood from this figure, the software plug-in includes a PrivacyCampaign Management indicia 405. When using the software plug-in tostore an electronic message (e.g., in a remote location) and associatethe electronic message with a particular privacy campaign, the user may,for example, select the desired electronic message and then select thePrivacy Campaign Management indicia 405.

The system may, in response to selection, by the user, of the PrivacyCampaign Management indicia 405, provide the user with a listing of aplurality of active privacy campaigns from which to select theparticular privacy campaign. The listing may include, for example, oneor more formal names for each of the plurality of privacy campaigns, oneor more unique identifiers for each of the plurality of privacycampaigns, one or more short names for each of the plurality of privacycampaigns, or any other suitable listing from which the user mayidentify and select the desired particular privacy campaign. In responseto the user selecting the particular privacy campaign, the system maythen be configured to store the electronic message in memory andelectronically associate the electronic message with the particularprivacy campaign.

In other embodiments, the system may, in response to selection, by theuser, of the Privacy Campaign Management indicia 405, substantiallyautomatically determine the particular privacy campaign with which theelectronic message should be associated. In such embodiments, the systemmay scan one or more portions of the electronic message (e.g., e-mail)to identify one or more unique identifiers or keywords associated withthe particular privacy campaign. For example, the system may identifythe name of the particular privacy campaign in a subject line of theelectronic message (e.g., or in the body).

Alternative Embodiments

Various embodiments of a system for modifying privacy campaign data mayinclude features in addition to those described above. Variousalternative embodiments of such a system are described below.

Automated Generation of Privacy Campaign E-mail Alias and Handling ofMessages Received via Alias

In particular embodiments, when initiating a new privacy campaign, thesystem is configured to substantially automatically generate an e-mailalias and associate the e-mail alias with the new privacy campaign. Insuch embodiments, the system may be configured to store any e-mailsforwarded to the e-mail alias and associate such e-mails with the newprivacy campaign. For example, a user may desire to maintain aparticular e-mail that is associated with the new privacy campaign.Rather than utilizing any software application or plug-in, the user maysimply forward the e-mail to the alias associated with the new privacycampaign. The system may then automatically store any e-mails receivedby the e-mail alias via forwarding (e.g., along with any attachments)and associate them in memory with the new privacy campaign.

Storage of Unassigned Electronic Messages

In particular embodiments, the system may receive a request to maintain(e.g., store) one or more electronic messages for later association witha particular privacy campaign or store the one or more electronicmessages for later association with a particular privacy campaign thatdoes not yet exist in the system (e.g., a planned privacy campaign). Insuch embodiments, the system may be configured to store the one or moreelectronic message in a suitable location and tag the one or moreelectronic messages as unassigned. In such embodiments, the system maybe configured to prompt a user to associate any unassigned electronicmessages with a new privacy campaign upon its creation. In still otherembodiments, the system is configured to receive an identification ofthe particular privacy campaign with which to associate a particularelectronic message at a time subsequent to an initial storage of theparticular electronic message.

Additional Aspects of System

-   1. Standardized and Customized Assessment of Vendors' Compliance    with Privacy and/or Security Policies

In particular embodiments, the system may be adapted to: (1) facilitatethe assessment of one or more vendors' compliance with one or moreprivacy and/or security policies; and (2) allow organizations (e.g.,companies or other organizations) who do business with the vendors tocreate, view and/or apply customized criteria to informationperiodically collected by the system to evaluate each vendor'scompliance with one or more of the company's specific privacy and/orsecurity policies. In various embodiments, the system may also flag anyassessments, projects, campaigns, and/or data flows that theorganization has documented and maintained within the system if thosedata flows are associated with a vendor that has its rating changed sothat the rating meets certain criteria (e.g., if the vendor's ratingfalls below a predetermined threshold).

In particular embodiments:

-   -   The system may include an online portal and community that        includes a listing of all supported vendors.    -   An appropriate party (e.g., the participating vendor or a member        of the on-line community) may use the system to submit an        assessment template that is specific to a particular vendor.        -   If the template is submitted by the vendor itself, the            template may be tagged in any appropriate way as “official”        -   An instance for each organization using the system (i.e.,            customer) is integrated with this online community/portal so            that the various assessment templates can be directly fed            into that organization's instance of the system if the            organization wishes to use it.    -   Vendors may subscribe to a predetermined standardized assessment        format.        -   Assessment results may also be stored in the central            community/portal.        -   A third party privacy and/or security policy compliance            assessor, on a schedule, may (e.g., periodically) complete            the assessment of the vendor.        -   Each organization using the system can subscribe to the            results (e.g., once they are available).        -   Companies can have one or more customized rules set up            within the system for interpreting the results of            assessments in their own unique way. For example:            -   Each customer can weight each question within an                assessment as desired and set up addition/multiplication                logic to determine an aggregated risk score that takes                into account the customized weightings given to each                question within the assessment.            -   Based on new assessment results—the system may notify                each customer if the vendor's rating falls, improves, or                passes a certain threshold.            -   The system can flag any assessments, projects,                campaigns, and/or data flows that the customer has                documented and maintained within the system if those                data flows are associated with a vendor that has its                rating changed.

-   2. Privacy Policy Compliance System that Facilitates Communications    with Regulators (including translation aspect)

In particular embodiments, the system is adapted to interface with thecomputer systems of regulators (e.g., government regulatory agencies)that are responsible for approving privacy campaigns. This may, forexample, allow the regulators to review privacy campaign informationdirectly within particular instances of the system and, in someembodiments, approve the privacy campaigns electronically.

In various embodiments, the system may implement this concept by:

-   -   Exporting relevant data regarding the privacy campaign, from an        organization's instance of the system (e.g., customized version        of the system) in standardized format (e.g., PDF or Word) and        sending the extracted data to an appropriate regulator for        review (e.g., in electronic or paper format).        -   Either regular provides the format that the system codes to,            or the organization associated with the system provides a            format that the regulators are comfortable with.    -   Send secure link to regulator that gives them access to comment        and leave feedback        -   Gives the regulator direct access to the organization's            instance of the system with a limited and restricted view of            just the projects and associated audit and commenting logs            the organization needs reviewed.        -   Regulator actions are logged historically and the regulator            can leave guidance, comments, and questions, etc.    -   Have portal for regulator that securely links to the systems of        their constituents.

Details:

-   -   When submitted—the PIAs are submitted with requested        priority—standard or expedited.    -   DPA specifies how many expedited requests individuals are        allowed to receive.    -   Either the customer or DPA can flag a PIA or associated        comments/guidance on the PIA with “needs translation” and that        can trigger an automated or manual language translation.    -   Regulator could be a DPA “data protection authority” in any EU        country, or other country with similar concept like FTC in US,        or OPC in Canada.

-   3. Systems/Methods for Measuring the Privacy Maturity of a Business    Group within an Organization.

In particular embodiments, the system is adapted for automaticallymeasuring the privacy of a business group, or other group, within aparticular organization that is using the system. This may provide anautomated way of measuring the privacy maturity, and one or more trendsof change in privacy maturity of the organization, or a selectedsub-group of the organization.

In various embodiments, the organization using the system can customizeone or more algorithms used by the system to measure the privacymaturity of a business group (e.g., by specifying one or more variablesand/or relative weights for each variable in calculating a privacymaturity score for the group). The following are examples of variablesthat may be used in this process:

-   -   Issues/Risks found in submitted assessments that are unmitigated        or uncaught prior to the assessment being submitted to the        privacy office        -   % of privacy assessments with high issues/total assessments        -   % with medium        -   % with low    -   Size and type of personal data used by the group        -   Total assessments done        -   Number of projects/campaigns with personal data        -   Amount of personal data        -   Volume of data transfers to internal and external parties    -   Training of the people in the group        -   Number or % of individuals who have watched training,            readings, or videos        -   Number or % of individuals who have completed quizzes or            games for privacy training        -   Number or % of individuals who have attended privacy events            either internally or externally        -   Number or % of individuals who are members of IAPP        -   Number or % of individuals who have been specifically            trained in privacy either internally or externally, formally            (IAPP certification) or informally        -   Usage of an online version of the system, or mobile training            or communication portal that customer has implemented    -   Other factors

-   4. Automated Assessment of Compliance (scan app or website to    determine behavior/compliance with privacy policies)

In various embodiments, instead of determining whether an organizationcomplies with the defined parameters of a privacy campaign by, forexample, conducting an audit as described above (e.g., by asking usersto answer questions regarding the privacy campaign, such as “What iscollected” “what cookies are on your website”, etc.), the system may beconfigured to automatically determine whether the organization iscomplying with one or more aspects of the privacy policy.

For example, during the audit process, the system may obtain a copy of asoftware application (e.g., an “app”) that is collecting and/or usingsensitive user information, and then automatically analyze the app todetermine whether the operation of the app is complying with the termsof the privacy campaign that govern use of the app.

Similarly, the system may automatically analyze a website that iscollecting and/or using sensitive user information to determine whetherthe operation of the web site is complying with the terms of the privacycampaign that govern use of the web site.

In regard to various embodiments of the automatic application-analyzingembodiment referenced above:

-   -   The typical initial questions asked during an audit may be        replaced by a request to “Upload your app here”.        -   After the app is uploaded to the system, the system detects            what privacy permissions and data the app is collecting from            users.        -   This is done by having the system use static or behavioral            analysis of the application, or by having the system            integrate with a third party system or software (e.g.,            Veracode), which executes the analysis.        -   During the analysis of the app, the system may detect, for            example, whether the app is using location services to            detect the location of the user's mobile device.        -   In response to determining that the app is collecting one or            more specified types of sensitive information (e.g., the            location of the user's mobile device), the system may            automatically request follow up information from the user by            posing one or more questions to the user, such as:            -   For what business reason is the data being collected?            -   How is the user's consent given to obtain the data?            -   Would users be surprised that the data is being                collected?            -   Is the data encrypted at rest and/or in motion?            -   What would happen if the system did not collect this                data? What business impact would it have?            -   In various embodiments, the system is adapted to allow                each organization to define these follow-up questions,                but the system asks the questions (e.g., the same                questions, or a customized list of questions) for each                privacy issue that is found in the app.        -   In various embodiments, after a particular app is scanned a            first time, when the app is scanned, the system may only            detect and analyze any changes that have been made to the            app since the previous scan of the app.        -   In various embodiments, the system is adapted to            (optionally) automatically monitor (e.g., continuously            monitor) one or more online software application            marketplaces (such as Microsoft, Google, or Apple's App            Store) to determine whether the application has changed. If            so, the system may, for example: (1) automatically scan the            application as discussed above; and (2) automatically notify            one or more designated individuals (e.g., privacy office            representatives) that an app was detected that the business            failed to perform a privacy assessment on prior to launching            the application.

In regard to various embodiments of the automatic application-analyzingembodiment referenced above:

-   -   The system prompts the user to enter the URL of the web site to        be analyzed, and, optionally, the URL to the privacy policy that        applies to the web site.    -   The system then scans the website for cookies, and/or other        tracking mechanisms, such as fingerprinting technologies and/or        3rd party SDKs.        -   The system may then optionally ask the user to complete a            series of one or more follow-up questions for each of these            items found during the scan of the website.        -   This may help the applicable privacy office craft a privacy            policy to be put on the website to disclose the use of the            tracking technologies and SDK's used on the website.    -   The system may then start a continuous monitoring of the website        site to detect whether any new cookies, SDKs, or tracking        technologies are used. In various embodiments, the system is        configured to, for example, generate an alert to an appropriate        individual (e.g., a designated privacy officer) to inform them        of the change to the website. The privacy officer may use this        information, for example, to determine whether to modify the        privacy policy for the website or to coordinate discontinuing        use of the new tracking technologies and/or SDK's.    -   In various embodiments, the system may also auto-detect whether        any changes have been made to the policy or the location of the        privacy policy link on the page and, in response to        auto-detecting such changes, trigger an audit of the project.    -   It should be understood that the above methods of automatically        assessing behavior and/or compliance with one or more privacy        policies may be done in any suitable way (e.g., ways other than        website scanning and app scanning). For example, the system may        alternatively, or in addition, automatically detect, scan and/or        monitor any appropriate technical system(s) (e.g., computer        system and/or system component or software), cloud services,        apps, websites and/or data structures, etc.

-   5. System Integration with DLP Tools.

DLP tools are traditionally used by information security professionals.Various DLP tools discover where confidential, sensitive, and/orpersonal information is stored and use various techniques toautomatically discover sensitive data within a particular computersystem—for example, in emails, on a particular network, in databases,etc. DLP tools can detect the data, what type of data, the amount ofdata, and whether the data is encrypted. This may be valuable forsecurity professionals, but these tools are typically not useful forprivacy professionals because the tools typically cannot detect certainprivacy attributes that are required to be known to determine whether anorganization is in compliance with particular privacy policies.

For example, traditional DLP tools cannot typically answer the followingquestions:

Who was the data collected from (data subject)?

Where are those subjects located?

Are they minors?

How was consent to use the data received?

What is the use of the data?

Is the use consistent with the use specified at the time of consent?

What country is the data stored in and/or transferred to?

Etc.

-   -   In various embodiments, the system is adapted to integrate with        appropriate DLP and/or data discovery tools (e.g., INFORMATICA)        and, in response to data being discovered by those tools, to        show each area of data that is discovered as a line-item in a        system screen via integration.        -   The system may do this, for example, in a manner that is            similar to pending transactions in a checking account that            have not yet been reconciled.    -   A designated privacy officer may then select one of those—and        either match it up (e.g., reconcile it) with an existing data        flow or campaign in the system OR trigger a new assessment to be        done on that data to capture the privacy attributes and data        flow.

-   6. System for Generating an Organization's Data Map by Campaign, by    System, or by Individual Data Attributes.

In particular embodiments, the system may be adapted to allow users tospecify various criteria, and then to display, to the user, any datamaps that satisfy the specified criteria. For example, the system may beadapted to display, in response to an appropriate request: (1) all of aparticular customer's data flows that are stored within the system; (2)all of the customer's data flows that are associated with a particularcampaign; and/or (3) all of the customer's data flows that involve aparticular address.

Similarly, the system may be adapted to allow privacy officers todocument and input the data flows into the system in any of a variety ofdifferent ways, including:

-   -   Document by process        -   The user initiates an assessment for a certain business            project and captures the associated data flows (including            the data elements related to the data flows and the systems            they are stored in).    -   Document by element        -   The user initiates an audit of a data element—such as            SSN—and tries to identify all data structures associated            with the organization that include the SSN. The system may            then document this information (e.g., all of the            organization's systems and business processes that involve            the business processes.)    -   Document by system        -   The user initiates an audit of a database, and the system            records, in memory, the results of the audit.

-   7. Privacy Policy Compliance System that Allows Users to Attach    Emails to Individual Campaigns.

Privacy officers frequently receive emails (or other electronicmessages) that are associated with an existing privacy assessment orcampaign, or a potential future privacy assessment. For record keepingand auditing purposes, the privacy officer may wish to maintain thoseemails in a central storage location, and not in email. In variousembodiments, the system is adapted to allow users to automaticallyattach the email to an existing privacy assessment, data flow, and/orprivacy campaign. Alternatively or additionally, the system may allow auser to automatically store emails within a data store associated withthe system, and to store the emails as “unassigned”, so that they maylater be assigned to an existing privacy assessment, data flow, and/orprivacy campaign.

-   -   In various embodiments, the system is adapted to allow a user to        store an email using:        -   a browser plugin-extension that captures webmail;        -   a Plug-in directly with office 365 or google webmail (or            other suitable email application);        -   a Plug-in with email clients on computers such as Outlook;        -   via an integrated email alias that the email is forwarded            to; or        -   any other suitable configuration

-   8. Various Aspects of Related Mobile Applications

In particular embodiments, the system may use a mobile app (e.g., thatruns on a particular mobile device associated by a user) to collect datafrom a user. The mobile app may be used, for example, to collect answersto screening questions. The app may also be adapted to allow users toeasily input data documenting and/or reporting a privacy incident. Forexample, the app may be adapted to assist a user in using their mobiledevice to capture an image of a privacy incident (e.g., a screen shotdocumenting that data has been stored in an improper location, or that aprintout of sensitive information has been left in a public workspacewithin an organization.)

The mobile app may also be adapted to provide incremental training toindividuals. For example, the system may be adapted to provideincremental training to a user (e.g., in the form of the presentation ofshort lessons on privacy). Training sessions may be followed by shortquizzes that are used to allow the user to assess their understanding ofthe information and to confirm that they have completed the training.

-   9. Automatic Generation of Personal Data Inventory for Organization

In particular embodiments, the system is adapted to generate and displayan inventory of the personal data that an organization collects andstores within its systems (or other systems). As discussed above, invarious embodiments, the system is adapted to conduct privacy impactassessments for new and existing privacy campaigns. During a privacyimpact assessment for a particular privacy campaign, the system may askone or more users a series of privacy impact assessment questionsregarding the particular privacy campaign and then store the answers tothese questions in the system's memory, or in memory of another system,such a third-party computer server.

Such privacy impact assessment questions may include questionsregarding: (1) what type of data is to be collected as part of thecampaign; (2) who the data is to be collected from; (3) where the datais to be stored; (4) who will have access to the data; (5) how long thedata will be kept before being deleted from the system's memory orarchived; and/or (6) any other relevant information regarding thecampaign.

The system may store the above information, for example, in any suitabledata structure, such as a database. In particular embodiments, thesystem may be configured to selectively (e.g., upon request by anauthorized user) generate and display a personal data inventory for theorganization that includes, for example, all of the organization'scurrent active campaigns, all of the organization's current and pastcampaigns, or any other listing of privacy campaigns that, for example,satisfy criteria specified by a user. The system may be adapted todisplay and/or export the data inventory in any suitable format (e.g.,in a table, a spreadsheet, or any other suitable format).

-   10. Integrated/Automated Solution for Privacy Risk Assessments

Continuing with Concept 9, above, in various embodiments, the system mayexecute multiple integrated steps to generate a personal data inventoryfor a particular organization. For example, in a particular embodiment,the system first conducts a Privacy Threshold Assessment (PTA) by askinga user a relatively short set of questions (e.g., between 1 and 15questions) to quickly determine whether the risk associated with thecampaign may potentially exceed a pre-determined risk threshold (e.g.,whether the campaign is a potentially high-risk campaign). The systemmay do this, for example, by using any of the above techniques to assigna collective risk score to the user's answers to the questions anddetermining whether the collective risk score exceeds a particular riskthreshold value. Alternatively, the system may be configured todetermine that the risk associated with the campaign exceeds the riskthreshold value if the user answers a particular one or more of thequestions in a certain way.

The system may be configured for, in response to the user's answers toone or more of the questions within the Privacy Threshold Assessmentindicating that the campaign exceeds, or may potentially exceed, apre-determined risk threshold, presenting the user with a longer set ofdetailed questions regarding the campaign (e.g., a Privacy ImpactAssessment). The system may then use the user's answers to this longerlist of questions to assess the overall risk of the campaign, forexample, as described above.

In particular embodiments, the system may be configured for, in responseto the user's answers to one or more of the questions within the PrivacyThreshold Assessment indicating that the campaign does not exceed, ordoes not potentially exceed, a pre-determined risk threshold, notpresenting the user with a longer set of detailed questions regardingthe campaign (e.g., a Privacy Impact Assessment). In such a case, thesystem may simply save an indication to memory that the campaign is arelatively low risk campaign.

Accordingly, in particular embodiments, the system may be adapted toautomatically initiate a Privacy Impact Assessment if the results of ashorter Privacy Threshold Assessment satisfy certain criteria.Additionally, or alternatively, in particular embodiments, the systemmay be adapted to allow a privacy officer to manually initiate a PrivacyImpact Assessment for a particular campaign.

In particular embodiments, built into the Privacy Threshold Assessmentand the Privacy Impact Assessment are the data mapping questions and/orsub-questions of how the personal data obtained through the campaignwill be collected, used, stored, accessed, retained, and/or transferred,etc. In particular embodiments: (1) one or more of these questions areasked in the Privacy Threshold Assessment; and (2) one or more of thequestions are asked in the Privacy Impact Assessment. In suchembodiments, the system may obtain the answers to each of thesequestions, as captured during the Privacy Threshold Assessment and thePrivacy Impact Assessment, and then use the respective answers togenerate the end-to-end data flow for the relevant privacy campaign.

The system may then link all of the data flows across all of theorganization's privacy campaigns together in order to show a completeevergreen version of the personal data inventory of the organization.Thus, the system may efficiently generate the personal data inventory ofan organization (e.g., through the use of reduced computer processingpower) by automatically gathering the data needed to prepare thepersonal data inventory while conducting Privacy Threshold Assessmentsand Privacy Impact Assessments.

Automated Approach to Demonstrating Privacy By Design

Privacy by design is a documented approach to managing privacy risks.One of the primary concepts is evaluating privacy impacts, and makingappropriate privacy-protecting changes during the design phase of aproject, before the project go-live. Organizations have embraced theconcept, but have struggled with how to operationalize and demonstratethat they are doing this.

In various embodiments, the system is adapted to automate this with thefollowing capabilities: (1) initial assessment; (2) gapanalysis/recommendations; and/or (3) final/updated assessment. Thesecapabilities are discussed in greater detail below.

Initial Assessment

In various embodiments, when a business team within a particularorganization is planning to begin a privacy campaign, the systempresents the business team with a set of assessment questions that aredesigned to help one or more members of the organization's privacy teamto understand what the business team's plans are, and to understandwhether the privacy campaign may have privacy impact on theorganization. The questions may also include a request for the businessteam to provide the “go-live” date for the privacy campaign. In responseto receiving the answers to these questions, the system stores theanswers to the system's memory and makes the answers available to theorganization's privacy team. The system may also add the “go-live” dateto one or more electronic calendars (e.g., the system's electronicdocket).

Gap Analysis/Recommendations

After the system receives the answers to the questions, one or moremembers of the privacy team may review the answers to the questions. Theprivacy team may then enter, into the system, guidance and/orrecommendations regarding the privacy campaign. In particularembodiments, the system automatically reminds one or more members of thebusiness team to implement the privacy team's recommendations before thego-live date. The system may also implement one or more audits (e.g., asdescribed above) to make sure that the business team incorporates theprivacy team's recommendations before the “go-live” date.

Final/Updated Assessment

Once the mitigation steps and recommendations are complete, the systemmay (e.g., automatically) conduct an updated review to assess theupdated privacy impact and privacy risks.

Reporting and Historical Logging Capabilities

In particular embodiments, the system includes unique reporting andhistorical logging capabilities to automate Privacy-by-Design reporting.In various embodiments, the system is adapted to: (1) measure/analyzethe initial assessment answers from the business team; (2) measurerecommendations for the privacy campaign; (3) measure any changes thatwere implemented prior to the go-live date; (4) automaticallydifferentiate between: (a) substantive privacy protecting changes, suchas the addition of encryption, anonymization, or minimizations; and (b)non-substantive changes, such as spelling correction.

The system may also be adapted to generate a privacy-by-design reportshowing that: (1) projects are evaluated prior to go-live; and (2)substantive recommendations are made and implemented prior to go-live.This may be useful in documenting that privacy-by-design is beingeffectively implemented for a particular privacy campaign.

System for Preventing Individuals from Trying to Game the System

As discussed above, in particular embodiments, the system is adapted todisplay a series of threshold questions for particular privacy campaignsand to use conditional logic to assess whether to present additional,follow-up questions to the user. There may be situations in which a usermay answer, or attempt to answer, one or more of the threshold questionsincorrectly (e.g., dishonestly) in an attempt to avoid needing to answeradditional questions. This type of behavior can present seriouspotential problems for the organization because the behavior may resultin privacy risks associated with a particular privacy campaign beinghidden due to the incorrect answer or answers.

To address this issue, in various embodiments, the system: (1) maintainsa historical record of every button press (e.g., un-submitted systeminput) that an individual makes when a question is presented to them;and (2) tracks, and saves to memory, each incidence of the individualchanging their answer to a question (e.g., (a) before formallysubmitting the answer by pressing an “enter” key, or other “submit” keyon a user interface, such as a keyboard or graphical user interface on atouch-sensitive display screen; or (b) after initially submitting theanswer).

The system may also be adapted to automatically determine whether aparticular question (e.g., threshold question) is a “critical” questionthat, if answered in a certain way, would cause the conditional logictrigger to present the user with one or more follow-up questions. Forexample, the system may, in response to receiving the user's full set ofanswers to the threshold questions, automatically identify anyindividual question within the series of threshold questions that, ifanswered in a particular way (e.g., differently than the user answeredthe question) would have caused the system to display one or more followup questions. The system may then flag those identified questions, inthe system's memory, as “critical” questions.

Alternatively, the system may be adapted to allow a user (e.g., aprivacy officer of an organization) who is drafting a particularthreshold question that, when answered in a particular way, willautomatically trigger the system to display one or more follow upquestions to the user, to indicate that is a “critical” thresholdquestion. The system may then save this “critical” designation of thequestion to the system's computer memory.

In various embodiments, the system is configured, for any questions thatare deemed “critical” (e.g., either by the system, or manually, asdiscussed above), to determine whether the user exhibited any abnormalbehavior when answering the question. For example, the system may checkto see whether the user changed their answer once, or multiple times,before submitting their answer to the question (e.g., by tracking theuser's keystrokes while they are answering the threshold question, asdescribed above). As another example, the system may determine whetherit took the user longer than a pre-determined threshold amount of time(e.g., 5 minutes, 3 minutes, etc.) to answer the critical thresholdquestion.

In particular embodiments, the system may be adapted, in response todetermining that the user exhibited abnormal behavior when answering thecritical threshold question, to automatically flag the thresholdquestion and the user's answer to that question for later follow up by adesignated individual or team (e.g., a member of the organization'sprivacy team). In particular embodiments, the system may also, oralternatively, be adapted to automatically generate and transmit amessage to one or more individuals (e.g., the organization's chiefprivacy officer) indicating that the threshold question may have beenanswered incorrectly and that follow-up regarding the question may beadvisable. After receiving the message, the individual may, inparticular embodiments, follow up with the individual who answered thequestion, or conduct other additional research, to determine whether thequestion was answered accurately.

CONCLUSION

Although embodiments above are described in reference to various privacycompliance monitoring systems, it should be understood that variousaspects of the system described above may be applicable to otherprivacy-related systems, or to other types of systems, in general.

While this specification contains many specific embodiment details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinvention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures that may be specific to particular embodiments of particularinventions. Certain features that are described in this specification inthe context of separate embodiments may also be implemented incombination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features thatare described in the context of a single embodiment may also beimplemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitablesub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems maygenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tomind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains havingthe benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions andthe associated drawings. While examples discussed above cover the use ofvarious embodiments in the context of operationalizing privacycompliance and monitoring user inputs related to privacy campaigns,various embodiments may be used in any other suitable context.Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to belimited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications andother embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purposes oflimitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented data processing method forelectronically receiving the input of campaign data related to a privacycampaign and electronically calculating a risk level for the privacycampaign based on the data inputs comprising: displaying on a graphicaluser interface a prompt to create an electronic record for a privacycampaign, wherein the privacy campaign utilizes personal data collectedfrom at least one or more persons or one or more entities; receiving acommand to create an electronic record for the privacy campaign;creating an electronic record for the privacy campaign and digitallystoring the record; presenting, on one or more graphical userinterfaces, a plurality of prompts for the input of campaign datarelated to the privacy campaign; electronically receiving campaign datainput by one or more users, wherein the campaign data identifies eachof: a description of the campaign; one or more types of personal datarelated to the campaign; a subject from which the personal data wascollected; the storage of the personal data; and access to the personaldata; processing the campaign data by electronically associating thecampaign data with the record for the privacy campaign; receiving, byone or more computer processors, a request to associate an electronicmessage with the record for the privacy campaign; in response toreceiving the request, associating the electronic message with therecord for the privacy campaign; digitally storing the campaign dataassociated with the record for the campaign; using one or more computerprocessors, calculating a risk level for the campaign based on thecampaign data, wherein calculating the risk level for the campaigncomprises: electronically retrieving from a database the campaign dataassociated with the record for the campaign; electronically determininga plurality of weighting factors for the campaign, wherein the pluralityof weighting factors are based upon a plurality of factors including:the nature of the personal data associated with the campaign; thephysical location of the personal data associated with the campaign; thelength of time that the personal data associated with the campaign willbe retained in storage; the type of individual from which the personaldata associated with the campaign originated; and the country ofresidence of the individual from which the personal data associated withthe campaign originated; electronically assigning a relative risk ratingfor each of the plurality of factors; and electronically calculating arisk level for the campaign based upon the plurality of weightingfactors and the relative risk rating for each of the plurality offactors; and digitally storing the risk level associated with the recordfor the campaign.
 2. The computer-implemented data processing method ofclaim 1, further comprising electronically determining an audit schedulefor the campaign based at least in part on the risk level.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented data processing method of claim 2, furthercomprising: scanning the electronic message to identify at least onepiece of content within the electronic message; and modifying the auditschedule based at least in part on the at least one piece of content. 4.The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 1, wherein: themethod further comprises providing a browser plug-in for installation ona computer device, the browser plug-in being configured to receive therequest to associate the electronic message with the record for theprivacy campaign; and receiving the request to associate the electronicmessage with the record for the privacy campaign comprises receiving therequest via the browser plug-in.
 5. The computer-implemented dataprocessing method of claim 1, wherein: the method further comprisesestablishing an e-mail alias associated with the campaign; and receivingthe request to associate the electronic message with the record for theprivacy campaign comprises receiving the electronic message in responseto an individual forwarding the electronic message to the e-mail alias.6. The computer-implemented data processing method of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of weighting factors are based upon the electronicmessage.
 7. The computer implemented data processing method of claim 1,further comprising: scanning the electronic message to identify at leastone piece of content within the electronic message; and determining,based at least in part on the at least one piece of content, whether toassociate the electronic message with the campaign.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented data processing method of claim 7, wherein the atleast one piece of content comprises at least one unique identifierassociated with the campaign.
 9. The computer implemented dataprocessing method of claim 1, further comprising: in response receivingthe command to create the electronic record for the privacy campaign,automatically generating an e-mail alias and associating the e-mailalias with the privacy campaign.
 10. The computer implemented dataprocessing method of claim 9, wherein receiving the request to associatethe electronic message with the record for the privacy campaigncomprises receiving the electronic message via a forwarded electronicmessage to the e-mail alias.
 11. A computer-implemented data processingmethod of electronically modifying a data structure comprising campaigndata related to a privacy campaign, the method comprising: receiving, byone or more processors, a request to modify a data structure to includeone or more electronic messages, wherein the data structure digitallystores campaign data related to a privacy campaign, and the campaigndata identifies each of: a description of the privacy campaign; one ormore types of personal data related to the privacy campaign; a subjectfrom which the personal data was collected; a storage location of thepersonal data; and one or more access permissions related to thepersonal data; in response to receiving the request, modifying, by oneor more processors, the data structure to include the one or moreelectronic messages; and associating, in the data structure, the one ormore electronic messages with the campaign data.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented data processing method of claim 11, furthercomprising calculating, using one or more computer processors, a risklevel for the campaign based on the campaign data, wherein calculatingthe risk level for the campaign comprises: electronically retrievingfrom a database the campaign data associated with a record for thecampaign; scanning the one or more electronic messages to identify oneor more pieces of content; electronically determining a plurality ofweighting factors for the campaign, wherein the plurality of weightingfactors are based upon a plurality of factors including: a nature of thepersonal data associated with the campaign; a physical storage locationof the personal data associated with the campaign; a keyword present inthe one or more pieces of content; a length of time that the personaldata associated with the campaign will be retained in storage; a type ofindividual from which the personal data associated with the campaignoriginated; and a country of residence of the individual from which thepersonal data associated with the campaign originated; electronicallyassigning a relative risk rating for each of the plurality of factors;and electronically calculating a risk level for the campaign based uponthe plurality of weighting factors and the relative risk rating for eachof the plurality of factors; and digitally storing the risk levelassociated with the record for the campaign.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented data processing method of claim 12, furthercomprising electronically determining an audit schedule for the campaignbased at least in part on the risk level.
 14. The computer-implementeddata processing method of claim 13, wherein: the method furthercomprises providing a software plug-in for installation on a computingdevice, wherein the software plug-in is configured to integrate with oneor more electronic messaging programs; and receiving the request tomodify the data structure to include the one or more electronic messagescomprises receiving the request via the software plug-in.
 15. Thecomputer-implemented data processing method of claim 11, furthercomprising: receiving, by one or more processors, a request to modify adata structure to include one or more second electronic messages relatedto a second privacy campaign; determining, by one or more processors,whether the second privacy campaign is an existing privacy campaign; inresponse to determining that the second privacy campaign is an existingprivacy campaign, modifying, by one or more processors, campaign dataassociated with the second privacy campaign to include the one or moresecond electronic messages; and in response to determining that thesecond privacy campaign is not an existing privacy campaign: storing theone or more second electronic messages in memory; and tagging the one ormore second electronic messages as unassigned.
 16. Thecomputer-implemented data processing method of claim 15, wherein: themethod further comprises providing, by one or more processors, asoftware plug-in for installation on a computing device; receiving therequest to modify the data structure to include the one or more secondelectronic messages related to the second privacy campaign comprisesreceiving the request via the software plug-in.
 17. Thecomputer-implemented data processing method of claim 16, wherein thesoftware plug-in is a plug-in selected from the group consisting of: abrowser plug-in extension configured for capturing the one or moreelectronic messages via webmail; and an electronic messaging applicationplug-in configured for capturing the one or more electronic messagesfrom the electronic messaging application.
 18. A computer-implementeddata processing method of electronically modifying campaign data relatedto a particular privacy campaign of a plurality of privacy campaigns,the method comprising: providing, by one or more processors, a softwareplug-in for installation on a computing device; receiving, by one ormore processors, via the software plug-in, a request to modify campaigndata for a particular privacy campaign of a plurality of privacycampaigns to include one or more electronic messages, wherein thecampaign data identifies each of: a description of the particularprivacy campaign; one or more types of personal data related to theparticular privacy campaign; a subject from which the personal data wascollected; a storage location of the personal data; and one or moreaccess permissions related to the personal data; in response toreceiving the request, modifying, by one or more processors, thecampaign data for the particular privacy campaign to include the one ormore electronic messages; and associating, in the data structure, theone or more electronic messages with the campaign data.
 19. Thecomputer-implemented data processing method of claim 18, wherein thesoftware plug-in is a plug-in selected from the group consisting of: abrowser plug-in extension configured for capturing the one or moreelectronic messages via webmail; and an electronic messaging applicationplug-in configured for capturing the one or more electronic messagesfrom the electronic messaging application.
 20. The computer-implementeddata processing method of claim 18, further comprising: scanning one ormore pieces of content in the one or more electronic messages; analyzingthe one or more pieces of content; and identifying the particularprivacy campaign of the plurality of privacy campaigns based at least inpart on the analyzed one or more pieces of content.